Comments on: According to ‘Abraham Lincoln’ Harriet Tubman Shouldn’t Be So Blackhttp://kathleencross.com/according-to-abraham-lincoln-harriet-tubman-shouldnt-be-so-black/
Fri, 05 Aug 2016 04:26:06 +0000hourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.2.15By: ElBanditohttp://kathleencross.com/according-to-abraham-lincoln-harriet-tubman-shouldnt-be-so-black/#comment-2327
Fri, 09 Nov 2012 20:23:52 +0000http://kathleencross.com/?p=3050#comment-2327Your article is amazing. You kept a clearer head than I could when I watched the film. I actually gave up half-way through and was told by my friends that they never mentioned Jaqueline Flemming’s character once. The movie version of Harriet Tubman only appeared as the ‘odd helpful black woman’ for a couple of scenes and was apparently never seen again. The film never even said her name outloud whatsoever.

So to me that is also unbelievable. Cast a ‘younger’ and ‘hotter’ person to play an actual down-to-earth hero who achieved so much in life. THEN, hand-wave her existence completely on screen and refuse her the right to be named or to be talked about between the characters. It was as if she was supposed to be the cameo in which everyone was supposed to recognise her on sight…except it failed completely.
Which is unacceptable. Especially with recently thanks to the Hunger Games, some movie goers have proved that we have since lost the ability to empathise with characters who do not appear ‘white’.

]]>By: @KosherSoulhttp://kathleencross.com/according-to-abraham-lincoln-harriet-tubman-shouldnt-be-so-black/#comment-2190
Sun, 04 Nov 2012 01:42:00 +0000http://kathleencross.com/?p=3050#comment-2190RT @novelistkc: http://t.co/XW1JiiHG <- Lord, help me not go off on these commenters… What part of colorism=injustice don’t people understand?
]]>By: @novelistkchttp://kathleencross.com/according-to-abraham-lincoln-harriet-tubman-shouldnt-be-so-black/#comment-2191
Sun, 04 Nov 2012 00:05:07 +0000http://kathleencross.com/?p=3050#comment-2191http://t.co/XW1JiiHG <- Lord, help me not go off on these commenters… What part of colorism=injustice don’t people understand?
]]>By: Kathleen Crosshttp://kathleencross.com/according-to-abraham-lincoln-harriet-tubman-shouldnt-be-so-black/#comment-1749
Sat, 03 Nov 2012 07:32:58 +0000http://kathleencross.com/?p=3050#comment-1749No one is moaning, nor do we need to ‘get a grip’ so tone down your “superior” rhetoric and understand that this is an issue of calling attention to a power structure in which the black woman who is not “mulatto looking” is continually degraded and/or made invisible by the choices of men (of every hue and stripe) who don’t value her.

The examples you present of Denzel and Will Smith are straw dogs. Dark skinned black men are plentiful onscreen, and they are considered sexy, marriageable, attractive and valuable in our society–especially if they are sports or civic heroes. Their skin color variations are jut that–variations, and even if they have a more pronounced African phenotype(Lips, nose, hair) these features are less of a factor in their value as black men and more specifically as black actors. NOT SO WITH DARK SKINNED BLACK WOMEN.

Harriet Tubman did not need to be made “younger and prettier”‘ in the movie because she was BEAUTIFUL in real life, you just do not have the eyes required to recognize how absolutely stunning she was as a human being. why does she have to look less African to be more attractive? Why do we have to change her for you? Change yourselves to see her beauty, damn it!

I wish for ALL brown-skinned little girls to see Harriet portrayed as the dark African she was, so that they might value the Africa they recognize in their own faces. where is the crime in that? If Abraham lincoln;s image is desecrated in some way, there are thousands of other “heroic” white men to make up for that. To whom can little brown girls turn for heroic images in which they see themselves reflected back? NO, they have to look mixed with something light (non-black African) to be SEEN let alone ADMIRED in this colorist construct you seem completely satisfied to let stand.

Perhaps if you had married a dark skinned woman, you might feel more inclined to respect and protect her image…

]]>By: Ancalagon18http://kathleencross.com/according-to-abraham-lincoln-harriet-tubman-shouldnt-be-so-black/#comment-1738
Fri, 02 Nov 2012 16:19:01 +0000http://kathleencross.com/?p=3050#comment-1738Lincoln was also made younger and prettier in the movie. Not sure of his original complexion.
Get a grip people, it’s a movie about vampires for chrissake. Denzel Washington was too dark to play malcolm X in my opinion and Will Smith was too light to play Ali. Nobody moaned about them.
Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter is not a PBS production on history. (Is Wesley Snipes in it? He’s as black as me)
]]>By: FutureRebbetzinhttp://kathleencross.com/according-to-abraham-lincoln-harriet-tubman-shouldnt-be-so-black/#comment-1488
Mon, 22 Oct 2012 08:32:13 +0000http://kathleencross.com/?p=3050#comment-1488I can understand making her younger and prettier, but making her skin lighter? That’s ridiculous!
]]>By: Jen McKeonhttp://kathleencross.com/according-to-abraham-lincoln-harriet-tubman-shouldnt-be-so-black/#comment-1459
Sat, 04 Aug 2012 03:35:38 +0000http://kathleencross.com/?p=3050#comment-1459See, I didn’t know all of that. I have a lot of respect for people who overcome hardships and diversity, and then proceed to help other people. I think I need to read more about Miss Tubman.
]]>By: Kathleen Crosshttp://kathleencross.com/according-to-abraham-lincoln-harriet-tubman-shouldnt-be-so-black/#comment-1457
Fri, 03 Aug 2012 08:39:20 +0000http://kathleencross.com/?p=3050#comment-1457Thank you, Jen. Much of Tubman’s life was tragic, but she was known by her contemporaries for her unshakable faith in God (whom she credits with telling her which paths to take to avoid capture) and her HUGE HEART (and courage). Not only did she risk her life countless times to lead slaves to freedom, she adopted orphans, fed the destitute (even when she herself was hungry) and used the funds from the book written about her to open a home for the aged. Everyone who knew her had enormous respect for her.

I love her.

]]>By: Jen McKeonhttp://kathleencross.com/according-to-abraham-lincoln-harriet-tubman-shouldnt-be-so-black/#comment-1451
Mon, 30 Jul 2012 20:14:07 +0000http://kathleencross.com/?p=3050#comment-1451I had no idea Miss Tubman had such a messed up life, good lord! I won’t go and see the movie, or support it. I am white, and even I can’t understand why they don’t cast darker skinned black women in these roles. It’s disrespectful in my opinion.
]]>By: Kathleen Crosshttp://kathleencross.com/according-to-abraham-lincoln-harriet-tubman-shouldnt-be-so-black/#comment-1444
Thu, 12 Jul 2012 00:21:24 +0000http://kathleencross.com/?p=3050#comment-1444Thank you for your input! Actually, in its classic (original) usage you are correct, and many, if not most, editors would agree with you. But in modern usage “begs the question” is interchangeable with “raises the question.” But since it seems to have distracted you from the point of the post, it may do the same to others. I have edited it.
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